THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
making a cheap and durable hiDge. Gains, 
three inches wide and two inches deep are cut 
in the horizontal piece, and into these are 
fitted pieces of 2x3-ineh stuff, which come 
down a little lower than the top of the trough 
and are high enough to serve as a wall for the 
pen. The middle one comes above the top of the 
pen for a handle. Boards are then nailed on to 
these upright pieces, making this a part of the 
wall of the pen, which is continued above to 
a proper bight When you wish to feed the 
bogs or clean the trough, nothing is needed 
but just to pull on the handle. The partition 
swings over, aud the trough is all on your 
side. When you are ready, push, and the 
hogs have it all to themselves. An old wagon 
spring fastened to a scantling above the handle, 
holds it in place either way. 
farm Cxonomi}. 
COMPLETE FERTILIZERS. 
WHEN THEY CAN BE PROFITABLY USED. 
SIR J. B. LA WES, LL.D., F. R. S. ETC., 
I believe that, wbat you call complete 
artificial manures are a mistake, or, in other 
words, crops entirely grown by ingredients 
furnished m chemical manures, are growu at 
too great a cost. Yougrow generally 14bushels 
of wheat. There is no difficulty in doubling this 
yield by means of the application of a certain 
amount of potash, phosphate and ammonia; 
but at the ordinary price of these ingredients 
the wheat would cost more than it would sell 
for. An artificial manure can be used with 
profit only when it furnishes to the soil a cer¬ 
tain part of the food of the plant, the soil 
supplying the residue. If you look at the re¬ 
sult of our experiments you will find that we 
have grown for 40 years in succession 30 to 40 
bushels of wheat, and 40 to 50 bushels of bar¬ 
ley per acre by means of artificial manures, 
one of the most essential ingredients in them 
being ammonia and nitrate, and yet I do not 
think that L ever advocated the use of these 
costly substances iu the States I am con¬ 
stantly asked by your farmers bow to grow 
more produce, and I generally say if you 
have ademaud for animal products, feed your 
stock with cotton meal or cotton cak6; if you 
have no demand for meat grow clover, or, 
if in the South, cow peas; plow the crons into 
the land You will get more ammonia by 
such a process than you could purchase for 
$23. A little plaster, kainit or superphos¬ 
phate has a wonderful power of increasing 
the growth of these crops; upon some of my 
laud which has received no manure contain¬ 
ing ammonia or nitrate for 36 years, I grew 
a crop of vetches, or tares which contained 
over 100 pounds of nitrogen per acre 1 used 
potash and phosphate. These 100 pounds of 
nitrogen represent 120 pounds of ammonia. 
You know better than I do how much you 
would have to pay lor 120 pounds of ammonia. 
We can grow crops, so far as they are grown, 
by means of artificial manures cheaper than 
you can, and we can, of course, obtain rather 
a better price tor our grain. Low prices are 
not necessarily to be met by increased pro¬ 
duction. A few years ago 1 read a paper on 
this subject before a farmers’ club, and was 
much found fault with by those who were 
urging that the best way to farm against low 
prices was to double your crops. 
Rotbamsted, England. 
Dumj ijusbxmiJrii. 
DAIRYING IN ENGLAND. 
PROF. J. P. SHELDON. 
This branch of agricultural industry is the 
only one we have that has paid its way tolera¬ 
bly well, on the average, during the eight or 
nine weary years of depression we have been 
passing through since the middle of the Jast 
decade. Yet it is probable that dairy farmers 
as a rule are no richer now than they were at 
the front end of the period I have indicated; 
and it goes without sayiDg that many of them 
are poorer. They have lived, of course, and 
this is something; but a large proportion of 
them have given their time and capital for 
mere sustenance, during that period, while not 
a few of them have sustained a diminution of 
capital into the bargain. All this is far from 
satisfactory, because men ought to make 
money to start their children with in life. 
Still, on the whole, dairy farming has been pay¬ 
ing its way fairly well, all things considered; 
while grain-growing and sheep-farming have 
certainly not done so, save iu favorable locali¬ 
ties and on suitable soils. On all heavy soils,and 
especially on the dense clays—which would do 
wonders under an American Summer—grain¬ 
growing has been a sorry business, annoying 
and daunting to a degree, and snaep have died 
wholesale of the '‘rot.” In same localities, 
owing to wet and sunless seasons, farmers 
have been hopelessly ruined by scores. Ten 
years ago, these were prosperous men. 
The salvation of dairy farmers has been the 
milk trade, in the past ten years. Had it not 
been for the relief which this trade afforded 
to congested cheese-making districts, dairy 
farmers too would have been ruined like the 
rest—that is, a good many more of them. For 
the fertility of the land was a good deal inter¬ 
fered with, its milkaud beef-yielding capacity 
was lessened, and the quality of its products 
wentdown very much. The milk-trade, how¬ 
ever, took off a large quantity of the lacteal 
fluid, and yielded a fair profit. But for this 
indeed, cheese would have been ruinously low 
in price, and butter would not have paid for 
the making. Very low as they were, once 
in a while, some two or three years ago, 
as your dairymen doubtless remember to 
their sorrow, cheese touched a lower point 
than, probably, it had done any time this cen¬ 
tury. The milk trade, however, kept things 
going, and stock-raising was profitable all the 
time. The Adulteration Acts made the milk- 
trade. and the milk-trade saved the farmers. 
It is very remurkable, the extent to which the 
milk-trade has expanded in the past ten years, 
for whole districts have practically given up 
cheese-making, and crowds of milk-carts are 
running to the railways twice a day. 
One result has been the development of 
winter dairying, and cows “on note” in Octo¬ 
ber and November have made remarkable 
prices. Many farmers have found it to then- 
advantage. living themselves too far from a 
railway, to provide autumn calving cows for 
others who, more favoraoly situated, devoted 
themselves to the production of a maximum 
quantity of milk in Winter; for they who 
could supply tbecity salesmen best in Winter, 
had a more reliable demand for their milk 
during the rest of the year. Other milk-sell¬ 
ing farmers have made a point of buying 
what milk they could in Winter from the few 
cheese-making farmers within reach, and 
many of them gave as much as they received 
for such milk. But it tided them over a scarce 
time, when milk is more costly to produce, and 
for the rest of the year they could do very 
well. The volume of milk produced in Winter 
has become equal to tnat produced in Bum¬ 
mer, save for the Summer surplus, which is 
made into cheese, and milk is worth no more 
to day than it was six months ago. The rt in¬ 
ter milk-trade, in fact, has been so far over¬ 
done that milk is cheaper no v than it has 
been for years, in the depth of Winter. There 
is a glut of it, indeed, and it is easily bought 
at summer prices, say at sixpence to eight- 
pence a gallon. 
Our stock of bovine animals has meanwhile 
got up to the figures of ten years ago, and 
values are considerably reduced of late. Calv¬ 
ing cows, whose value has gone down most of 
all, are worth $20 to $30 per head less than 
they were at Christmas. This decline in 
value of cattle in profit, points to the unplea¬ 
sant probability of stock raising becoming 
less profitable very soon, as, iuheed, it already 
is, aud in this event our dairy farmers will feel 
6ome inconvenience. The land, too, in re¬ 
sponse to the fine Summer of last year, is 
coming back into condition, and the produc¬ 
tion of milk and of flesh will be increased; 
this, of course, is au excellent thing in itself, 
and a fine prospect for everybody, but it will 
keep down the prices. Producers do better 
with a large yield and low prices than with 
a small yield and high prices—at least free- 
trading Britishers thiak so, and 1 am one of 
them—while this state of things is an un- 
mixed benefit to con miners, it is probable 
we shall have a series of years in which low 
prices will prevail for all kinds of farm pro¬ 
duce, and we hope for a large yield and good 
quality to balauce things. 
The fattening of stock in Britain—grazing, 
we call it—has not been very profitable in the 
run of years of late, because barren stock 
have been too dear to buy in. And now, beef 
and mutton are three or four cents a pound 
cheaper than they have been for a long time 
past, so that winter fattening is a losing game 
this time. Grazing is a pursuit collateral to 
that of dairying, aud they rise or fall togeth¬ 
er. If beef is low, toen barren stock go down, 
and stock raisers feel the strain. Butter pays 
better than anything else 1 know of in farm¬ 
ing, just now. It is worth from 30 to 40 cents 
per pound to the farmers; but we cannot ex¬ 
pect this to last, and presently it will be down 
to 25, or so. Cheese is slow sale at eight to 12 
cents, save for the finest qualities, and a great 
deal of last season's make is still on Lund. 
Young calves are Immoderately dear, in view 
of other kinds of dairy stock; they are worth 
from $7.00 to $15 00, according to size and 
quality. I speak now of calves a week old— 
ww calves, for ths moat part. 
Tba prospacta, than, of our dairy farmers, 
in the ooming season, are not particularly 
brilliant. But we think we are through with 
tba wet seasons, and, if our thinking turns out 
to be correct, we shall certainly get along 
fairly well. Given good seasons, we can com¬ 
pete with you, in our own markets, and onr 
own markets are all we have to look to. I am 
persuaded you cuuuot well afford to sell cheese 
to us, here, at less than 10 cents a pound; and 
if we get 10 cents for ours, along with a good 
yield—well, we can manage to live, and pay 
rents, aud taxes, and wages, and everything 
else, though I admit it will be rather close 
shaving. 
Surrey, England. 
More Experiments in Pig Feeding.— 
Prof. J. W. Sanborn, of the Missouri Agri¬ 
cultural College, has, in Bulletin No. 14, given 
the results of some experiments he has been 
making to ascertain the practicability of feed¬ 
ing pigs to produce a latge proportion of lean 
meat. He commenced by feeding two lots of 
pigs of three each of as nearly equal weight as 
possible. The first lot were fed shipscuffs, 
which are nearly equivalent to wheat mid¬ 
dlings; the second lot were fed corn. 
In 46 days one lot ate 334 pounds of 
shipstuff, and gained 91 pounds; lot two ate 
397 pounds of corn and gained 7 9 pouuda, Of 
the ship-stuff it required 3 67 pounds for one of 
gain, and of the corn 5.02 pounds, fhe experi¬ 
ment was further continued by adding dried 
blood to the ration of shipstuff, so as to raise 
the ratio of albuminoids to carbo-hydrates to 
one pound of the former to 1.64 pound of the 
latter—a very high proportion indeed. It 
was found, when the pigs were slaughtered, 
that the lot fed on the shipstuff and dried 
blood had not only made much the most gam, 
but the proportion of lean meat to the fat was, 
on au average, over 45 per cent, in favor of 
these as compared with those fed the corn 
and corn-meal; not only this, but the manure 
made from the first lot was more than twice as 
valuable as that from the second. He also 
found the vital organs of the first lot fed on 
the albuminous food, in a much better bal¬ 
anced condition than those of the lot fed on 
the carbohydrate, corn-meal. 
The Professor sums up the results of his 
eight years’ feeding experiments, thus: First, 
a pound of shipstuff has made more growth 
thar a pound of corn; second, the manure is 
worth more than twice as much; third, less 
than four pounds of shipstuff make a pound 
of pig, or 16 pounds for the weight of a bushel 
of corn; whereas but 10 pounds were made 
from a like quantity of corn; fourth, the ship- 
stuff gives a much larger proportion of lean 
pork, and that which is much more healthy 
and palatable, and which will be much more 
eaten; sixth, he is convinced that the German 
tables of the value of feeding stuffs need much 
and important modifications. 
The Professor is doing valiant service in the 
field of agricultural science, and his deduc¬ 
tions must in this case be regarded in the light 
of discoveries, and will have two good effects 
upon the country—one in teacning our farm¬ 
ers the value of shipstuff as animal food, and 
inducing them to use it at home, and while 
making better meat make better manure for 
the enriching of our fast wearing out fields; 
second, in familiarizing our farmers with the 
workings of the colleges, and in showing 
them tnat science, instead of being something 
to be afraid of, is really one of the best friends 
and most potent aids they can have. We are 
all proud of Prof. Ban born. 
A Fajimof Five Aurics.— Prof. L B. Ar¬ 
nold, who lives within three miles of Roches¬ 
ter, owns and cultivates a little farm of five 
acres. These five acres, Prof. Arnold says, 
could be made to yield him (so we learn by 
the New England Farmer) a good living. 
Last year his corn crop gave him $65; his 
potato crop yielded but $35, because the pota¬ 
toes were scabby. The net proceeds of 40 
hens were $96 99. The acre of newly-set rasp¬ 
berries gave him $115: the root crop $60. and 
the apple crop $130. Besides all this be adds 
from $50 to $75 worth of little incomes from 
the garden, fruit crop, bees, etc. This account 
does not include cow food in the form of 
grass, fodder, corn, etc., for summer and 
wiuter use, amounting to enough to keep 
one cow half the year. All this makes $000 
from the five acres. He keeps but one cow 
wholly on the soiling system, there being not 
a rod of pasture on the place The cow is a 
very profitable member of the concern, and 
if men with families could realize the value 
of such an animal, and could believe that a 
cow and a pasture are not necessarily insep¬ 
arable, far more family cows would be 
kept. One acre is iu apple trees—one to two 
in corn, manured m part hy poultry manure, 
one to raspberries (Doolittle), growu chiefly 
for drying. It takes about 2)£ to 3>£ quarts 
MAR 26 
of berries for a pound of evaporated fruit. 
The usual garden crops are growing in abun¬ 
dance. 
C Chancellor, Secretary of the State Board 
of Health of Maryland, in an address on the 
subject of draiuage, published in the National 
Farm and Fireside, states that siphons work¬ 
ing automatically involve but little outlay in 
maintenance, aud they would undoubtedly 
bo used much more frequently than they are 
at preseut if their special nature and advan¬ 
tages were more fully understood. Thus far, 
they have beeu used for the drainage of land 
with great advantage. In Scotland, the Earl 
of Stair drained by this means a wet marsh 
which had rendered the whole neighborhood 
unhealthy. The siphon pipe, seven inches in 
diameter, was a half a mile long, and it re¬ 
duced the water nine feet. 
WHICH MAY REMIND YOU. 
Here are some of the rules of theReadfield 
(Me.) cheese factory: 
1. Only healthy cows produce good milk. 
They must never be heated, or in any way 
misused or unduly excited. 
2. Regularity in the time of milking, and 
by the same person, secures the best results. 
Insist on cleanly habits in milkers. Filthiness 
is disastrous to both producer and consumer. 
3. Do not feed your cows whey, turnips, or 
cabbage; they are always injurious to milk, 
4 Only tin pails are suitable to be used by 
dairymen. All milk should be carefully 
strained; doing so from the pall, through a 
wire strainer is not sufficient; it should be 
strained through cloth also, otherwise the 
whole will be injured. 
5. There cannot be too great care as to 
cleanliness in handling milk. All pails and 
cans should be kept absolutely clean. 
6. Mixing of milk at different temperatures 
should be carefully avoided. This practice 
produces sour milk, and sour milk makes sour 
patrons .... 
The Toledo Blade says that the railroads 
with their soulless exactions stand between 
them and a fair return for their time, on the 
one baud, while on the other, the Snyloek3 
take advantage of their necessities, and ex¬ 
tort a runious rate of interest for the loans 
which the farmers must have to tide them 
over until after the next harvest.. 
The Orange County Farmer, speakiug of 
Shaffer s Colossal Raspberry, says Chut the 
housewife who ha3 once used it for cooking 
or for canning and drying, will want no 
other iu its place. Specimens of this plant 
were sent to the Rural when the variety 
was first introduced by Mr. Chas. A. Green, of 
Clifton, N. Y., the introducer, aud we are glad 
that our favorable reports are more than sus¬ 
tained by all who have fruited It. 
The Dairyman says that Mr. John T. Mc¬ 
Donald, of Dehli, N. Y., feeds all his sklw- 
rnilk and buttermilk back to Ins cows, except 
the little he uses to grow pigs for his pork for 
family use, and to start the calves he needs to 
replenish his dairy. He announces that he 
has proved that the same skim-milk it takes 
to make a pound of pork will, if fed to a cow, 
make one pound of butter! . 
Ex-Gov. Robert W. Furnas makes the 
claim for the Nemaha black-c*p that while it 
is in no respect iuferior to the Gregg, it is 
hardier. 
Ellwanger & Barry, who are always 
conservative in their statements, say that the 
new rose Marshall P. Wilder, (raised by E. & 
B. from seed of Gen. Jacqueminot) is as good 
as has beeu raised by anyone. “It is un¬ 
doubtedly,” they say “the best American 
Rose yet offered, and the finest of its color." 
Being a seedling of Jack , it is of course a Hy¬ 
brid Perpetual aud hardy. 
Here is a good selection of hardy roses: A 
Carriore, maroon; Charles Lefebvre, crimson; 
A. Colotnb, Vermillion; Paul Neyron, deep 
rose; Mine. Jolly, deep pink; Baroness Roths¬ 
child, flesh color uud Mabel Morrison, white.. 
Dr. Beadle of Canada quotes Josiali 
Hoopes, in the N. Y. Tribune, as saying that, 
after fruiting Fay’s Prolific Currant for two 
years, he thinks it produces clusters that sur¬ 
pass the immense bunches represented by the 
engravings that ushered this new fruit into 
notice. These cuts were all made from Rural 
New-Yorker’s drawings taken from nature. 
If you can buy but a single gladiolus bulb 
(corm), try Eugene Scribe. 
Mrs. Nelson, during one of the meetings of 
the Mass. Hort. Society spoke well-deserved 
words of praise of Llio tuberous-rooted Be¬ 
gonias. They stand the rain belter than auy 
other bedding plant, from the fact that the 
blossoms have thick, waxy peluls, aud as they 
close w hen it raius, the water slips off the out¬ 
side of the flowers, and as soon as the rain is 
over, the blossoms open as bright as if there 
had been no rain, and seem to look with sur¬ 
prise on their bedraggled neighbors. We find 
